Poultry and live stock feeder



link 1?, E953 F. L. SPWEY POULTRY AND LIVE STOCK FEEDER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16, 1944 IN VEN TOR. I

Jig 1 15m F. L. SPlVEY 2,fi,

POULTRY AND LIVE STOCK FEEDER Filed Oct. 16, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Fully W, 195k F. L. SPIVEY POULTRY AND LIVE STOCK FEEDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 16, 1944 INVENTOR.

Patented July 17, 1951 afiveflt'iiih' relates we: a sanitary' pomt-ry er live-stbck feeder when will hold a substantial :uuant'ity of seedamwhich-is automatic in ac- I tier-1'therebyelimihating the necessity of 'a-cal'e 's= attention= at feeding periods;

execute-thein entionis to provide *a saniwe feeder 'will protect the feed against theelement'sfffi aih, dust 'or storm between feedineriod's' as 1 Well as against wastage by birds, ra' r'hiee:

ffied'riwhibhi is Simple viii construetion-and operaf on:

A further object for the-ihvehtioh is to provide fa i eeder which is low in costwhe'r'ebythe savings itriieed and= labor will render the feeder: a Iprofi-table irivestmentr-forany oultryman or-sto'ekman.

hhirther object: of the invention is to -provide a.ieetler;which willliprevent wastage of the feed by poultrkoranim'als other-than those for which theieedi'is in'tbnded:

Other objects-and -advantages of the invent-ion willihesapbarentaduring the course 'of ;the'-follow ing description.

These-objectsarm-accomplished as-zdescribed in with a portion of the;.housing1 b'roken awayi' as seen from 'thetrighthandt'sider. of Fig. 1;

Fig; =3;1is aatfragmentary: isometriciprojeetionvof a-portion: of onexend: oi thefeeder;

mositions of the :fe'ed'errdoor actuatingmecham'sm. Fig; 5 isza'irag'mentary isometrieiprojectionof the adjustable 1'. weight. balancing 1. means inter.- posed betweem-cthe doorsand platforms oft/the whims: (c1. 119--55) heni-ob ect of the invention isto provide a iszia 1 vertical sectional .viewof thessingl'e 1 1 describing the "operation of thefeed'er attentmn "isinvit'esdtolfi'gs. '1 and '2 which illus- 'trate'e bo'x likel housing 'I provided with the feeding openings '2 on each side. The upper end 5 of thehousing is openand is provided with the removable lid 3'. Coinciding with the lower edges of the feeding openings 2 are 'the upper edges of 'theffeed troughs 4. It'will 'benoticed that the outer edgs of thefeedtroughsare=provided with the flanges *5 projecting inwardlyand'inclined upwardly;- These flanges extend th'eentire lengt ofthe -feeding openings and serve to retard the entrance-*o'f rainin'to the-feed troughs w hen the iio'ors'area in theirc'losed positionsand the wastage of feed from the troughs caused by agitation 0% the ieed by poultry "or live stock. when the doors are in their open positions; It Willbenoticed that "the -ou-te rsides of the feed troughs are inclined ihWa-rdly from their. upper edges to" the bases :of the ti'o' ugh's'. This construction eliminates sharp cor n'ers in the bottoms of the feed troughs-in whi'oh feed mi'gh't accumulate and become stal'e. The two feed-troughs-are joined together and formed integral with the angular portion 6' which 5 extends upwardly-toward thecenter -o'f the houst-heefol lowing specificatioh' and;illustratedxinthe i hg l. The eDtir'e feedingtrough unit is securely f ast'ehe'd to thehousiifg Interior the housing I and rigidly attached thereto are the fee'c'i binwalls l which extend the though-not absolutely arei'slig'htly divergent irom theiitfiupper' to their :lower limits in" order to prevent 'we'dging of the feed in the *feed bin thus fornied. '=I-:he lowerien'ds of *the walls I terminate 'isubstantial Y distance "above the angulariporon fi of the feed: trough: structure in order to :provide ample space sfor the. passage of feeding material.=-from :theieed-bi-n to theieeding troughs. vertioally 'movable gates ll are providedat-the 40 lower limits-either walls .1; these gates .vbeing' ad.- Fig. "4 'Lis a aldia'grammatici view-ofathe operating.

tj-ustableato :govern the amount o'f feed admitted to theateed troughs "4. ,Slo'tsIQ (Fig.3) arex-pro, v ided'; proximate 'eac'h end of :thegates 8 to permitfvertiealhmovementiof thesgates-zfl over sc'reiv's passing through the walls 1 "of the feed bin; Suit able Win'g nuts :1 0 a'eia'm p" the gates :8 in position afteristheyfhave'ibeen' adjusted;

As anxaiideii'precaution against tliepacking of feemin the feedrbin,vzarseries of rods Hareat- -tached":to;the housing "I and extend the length of the housing; 'llheserrods'lzarelocated onesabove "-thezotherzas illustrated :inflFigs. 2 and 3. A numb'errioifi l'acingi rods l2 may" bei-used toistiffeh and maintainzthexpositionsoftheirods I! along their *lengthiand'depth; As: the feed. proceeds :downwardlyy throughsthei feed =bin;vacantzpockets .-wil1 eleh'gthefof the-housing "l and preferably be formed beneath each of the rods H and thus aid in preventing packing of the feed. The rods being in the approximate center of the feed bin make a two compartment feed bin which will prevent stock or poultry on one side of the feeder from getting more than itsshare of the ,feed. This is particularly necessary'whei'e'the feeding subjects are kept in separate pens, and one unit feeder is used.

Vertically sliding doors l3 are provided on each side of the housing I. These doors are fitted to slide between retaining strips I4 attached to each end of the housing and the sides of the housing. Flanges l5 at the lower end of the doors are so formed as to mate with the flanges 5 of the feed troughs 4 when the doors are in their closed posi-.

the pivotal collars H] with relation to v the beams .20 and the levers I! will also Echan'ge the amount of movement required by the platforms 22 for properly operating the doors I3. In order to comtions thereby providing a seal for preventing the entrance of rain into the feed troughs. The flanges 5 of the trough sides provide seats .for the flanged bottom doors permitting the doors .to seat with greater impact than without said flanges. The flanges on the trough sides receiving the impact of the doors in seating because of the position to the trough sides cause a greater vibration to be set up than would be possible were they forced to seat upon trough sides without flanges. The impact of the flanged bottom doors vin seating produces jolts to, and vibrations within The jolts and vibrations are then transmitted by and from the the flanges on the trough sides.

door seat flanges to the feed within the feed bin through connecting parts of the feeder; namely, the feed trough, the housing and the feed bin.

Attached to the tops of the doors near each end thereof are chains, or links, l6 which connect the doors with the outer ends of the balance levers IT.- The levers l'l are supported by pivot pins l8 carried by the pivotal collars l9 which are slidably mounted on the beams extending the length of the housing I. Ends of beams 20 are rigidly mounted to ends of feeder by welding ,or any other suitable means. Chains, or links, 2| c on- -nect the inner ends of the levers I! withthe inner edges of feeding platforms 22, said platforms being pivoted at their outer limits on the pivots 23. I

As illustrated in the right hand half of Fig. l, the door [3 is in its lowermost, or closed, position while the feeding platform 22 is in its raised position. This corresponds with the positions of the various parts shown in full lines in the diagrammatic view of Fig. 4; However, as soon as the fowl, or animal, for which the feederisintended A steps upon the feeding platform, the platform -.it is evident that the weight of the doors must produce a greater moment onthe outer ends of the levers l'l than the weight of the feeding platforms produce on their inner ends. Also, the weight which must be applied to the platforms in order to cause the doors to rise to their open positions will vary in individual cases. Therefore, the pivotal collars i9 are slidable on both the beams 20 and the levers ll. By this-arrangement feeder.

l3. ,are free to slide, are provided on .their inner and desire-.to secure by Letters Patent of pensate for this variation, stops 25, formed by the projecting ends of the rods which compose the upper surfaces of the feeding platforms 22, are engageable with the upper edges of the members 26. The members 26 are attached to each end of the housing I and extend therefrom to form supports for the pivots 23. The outer ends of the members 26 rest upon the ground while their inner. ends are attached to the ends of the housing by means of suitable pins, or bolts, 21. A series of holes 28 are provided in each end of the housing for the reception of the pins, or bolts; 2'1. Thus, by moving the connection ofthe members 26. from one hole to another, the downward movement of the feeding. platforms is governed, preventing undue strain on the connecting means between the doors) and the platforms 22 when the doors are in their raised positions. A further object of the stops 25 is to providev a means whereby a jar, or vibration, will be transmitted to the housing I through the medium of the members 26 upon engagement of the stops 25 with the members 26 thereby aiding in preventing the packing of feed in the feed bin.

. While the feeder above described has been disclosed as a double type feeder from which feed may be obtained from either side, it can readily be converted into a feeder from which feed is obtainable from one side only by merely disconnecting one of the chains, or links, 2| from the platform on one side of the feeder. On whichever side the chain, or link, is disconnected'the door [3- will remain constantly in its closedposition.

Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive illustrate a single type Thesingle type is similar to the double type except that the inclined portion 6 extends to the back of the feeder and the .connections between the feeding platform 22 and the door 13 are all located exterior the housing and connect to the lower portion of, the door instead of the upper portion. In this instance, the outer ends of the levers l1, connect to the 'door by ,means of the links .29 and the stub shafts 30 which project from the outer face of the'door The parts 3l, through which the levers I'l sides with round extensions 32 which pass through slots 33 in the front of the housing I and are held in position by the washers 34 on the innergends of the extensions 32. Thus." adjustment, of the parts 3| may be made to secure the properbalance between the'door and the feeding platform in the same manner asv for the -'double type feeder first described.

Having thus described my invention I claim the United States the following: 1...:

1. In combination, a housing, said housing having sides provided with feeding openings, feed troughs in said housing in communication with said feeding openings in the sides of said hous- "ing, connecting means between said feed troughs,

said connectin meansbeing inclined inwardly 'and'upwardly from the inner limits of each feed trough base to the central portion of said hous ing, said feed troughs being provided with flan ed sides, said flanges bein inclined inwardly and upwardly, a feed bin within said housing, said feed bin having an open top, and an open bottom, said housing having an open top in communication with said feed bin, vertically adjustable gates carried by the walls of said feed bin for regulating the feed passage area between said feed bin and feeding troughs, vertically slidable doors for said feeding openings, said doors having stop means mounted to the bottoms thereof, said stop means being flanges which mate with the flanges of the trough sides whereby jolts and vibrations are produced by the impact of the doors flanges in seating upon the trough sides, feeding platforms adjacent said feeding openings, connecting means between said vertically slidable doors and said feeding platforms whereby the downward movements of the feeding platforms will effect upward movements of said vertically slidable doors and gravity means for closing said doors.

2. In combination, a device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting means between said doors and said platforms includes links and levers, said levers being mounted in collars, the collars being slidable over beams supported by the housing.

3. In combination, a housing, said housing havin sides provided with feeding openings and having an open top, lid means for closing said open top, a feed bin within said housing having an open top, feed troughs having sides within said housing in communication with the feeding openings in the sides of said housing, flanges on the upper edges of said trough sides which bend inwardly and upwardly, vertically slidable doors having flanged bottoms which mate with the flanges on the trough sdies whereby jolts and vibrations are produced by the impact of the door in seating on the flanges of the trough sides and transmitted to the feed bin to prevent feed from wedging in the feed bin, feeding platforms mounted for vertical movement exterior and adjacent said feeding openings, balancing pivotal collars supported by said housing in longitudinal slidab-le relation thereto, weight balancin levers mounted in said housing within said balancing pivotal collars, connecting means between the doors and said platforms to permit vertical movement of the doors so that in seating the flanges on the bottom of the doors will mate with the flanges on the troughs sides and gravity means for closin the doors.

FRANK L. SPIVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 891,693 Heisey June 23, 1903 914,720 Harper Mar. 9, 1909 1,081,134 Myer et a1. Dec. 9, 1913 1,257,399 Robbins Feb. 26, 1918 1,463,862 Wolf Aug. 7, 1923 1,530,101 Ashing Mar. 17, 1925 1,629,334 Bennett May 17, 1927 1,629,979 Steinback May 24, 1927 1,658,018 Hoffa Jan. 31, 1928 2,066,736 Muse Jan. 5, 1937 2,108,102 Busch Feb. 15, 1938 2,168,639 Yeaman Aug. 8, 1939 2,386,010 Spivey Oct, 2, 1945 

